Vakhtang Chabukiani

Vakhtang Mikheilis dze Chabukiani (Georgian: ვახტანგ ჭაბუკიანი) (February 27, 1910 – April 6, 1992) was a Georgian ballet dancer, choreographer and teacher highly regarded in his native country as well as abroad. He is considered to be one of the most influential male ballet dancers in history, and is noted for creating the majority of the choreography of the male variations which comprise the classical ballet repertory. This includes such famous ballets as Le Corsaire and La Bayadère.

He is also noted for his and Vladimir Ponomaryov's 1941 revival of the ballet La Bayadère for the Kirov/Mariinsky Ballet, which is still retained in the company's repertory (often referred to as the "Soviet version"). This version of the ballet has served as the basis for nearly every production staged outside of Russia, including Rudolf Nureyev and Natalia Makarova's versions.

Born in Tbilisi to a Georgian father and a Latvian mother, Chabukiani graduated from the local Maria Perini Ballet Studio in 1924. He continued his studies at the Leningrad Choreographic School between 1926 and 1929. He debuted at the Kirov State Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet in Leningrad in 1929, and toured with the first Soviet ballets in Italy and the United States in the 1930s. Vaghtang quickly established himself as a skillful artist, remaining a leading soloist with the Kirov Theatre. In 1920, the dancer and choreographer Mikhail Mordkin took over as director and continued focusing on the classical Russian repertoire staging such works as Swan Lake.

It was not until Vakhtang Chabukiani came along, however, in the 1930s that classical ballet become truly Georgian in character. Heroism and romanticism were characteristics of Chabukiani's style both as dancer and choreographer. This said, he also regularly challenged the refined delicacy of ballet and gave male dancers an active leading role in the work. Ultimately, he combined classic ballet with Georgian folk-dance traditions to create a form of dance that is uniquely Georgian.

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